Dik A. Daso
Recent stories by Dik A. Daso
Space Force Is an ‘Equal Partner’ in CENTCOM, Commander Says
The Space Force's top commander for the Middle East faces a two-fold resource problem, he said March 27. But with the support of U.S. Central Command and the Space Force, Col. Christopher Putman hopes to grow his team to confront the myriad of challenges presented ...
PHOTOS: Tinker Practices ‘Weather Flush,’ Conducts E-3 Elephant Walk
More than a dozen E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control, or AWACS, aircraft lined up on the runways at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., on March 21. The crews of the distinctive E-3, with rotating radar domes perched above the fuselage, were practicing one of ...
US Air Strikes Hit Back at Iran’s Proxy Forces in Syria After Deadly Drone Attack
The U.S. Air Force stuck two Iranian-backed militia sites in Syria early on the morning of March 24 local time, responding to a drone attack that killed a U.S. contractor in northeastern Syria the previous day, the Pentagon said. The militia attacks are the latest ...
After Long Wait, Guam’s Missile and Air Defense Is About to Get A Whole Lot Better
As Pentagon shifts its focus to the Pacific, the Department of Defense will undertake sweeping efforts to improve the air and missile defenses on Guam, a critical U.S. military hub in the western Pacific. Overall the DOD plans to invest $1.5 billion in fiscal 2024 ...
A-10s Headed to CENTCOM to Bolster Air Force Presence
As the Air Force’s broader focus shifts to the Pacific and Europe, the U.S. military will rely on aging close air support aircraft to meet the needs of its forces in the Middle East. A-10 Thunderbolt IIs will deploy to the region in April, a ...
Lack of Airpower in Ukraine Proves Value of Air Superiority, NATO Air Boss Says
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has proven that air superiority is vital to success in conflict, Gen. James B. Hecker, the top U.S. Air Force commander in Europe, said March 22. In a Mitchell Institute event, Hecker argued that if Russia had gained air superiority early ...
More B-21s Would Help America Field a Two-War Military, New Mitchell Paper Says
The future U.S. bomber force could provide a way for the Pentagon to simultaneously deter conflict with peer adversaries in two geographically disparate theaters, said Mark Gunzinger, the director of future concepts and capability assessments at AFA's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, during a March ...
Chinese Spy Balloon Prompts $90 Million in New Air Defense Spending
The Chinese spy balloon may have popped, but funding to protect against similar threats is inflating, according to the Department of Defense. The high-attitude surveillance balloon that traversed the U.S. in late January and early February prompted last-minute additions to the Pentagon's budget of around ...
Photos: F-22 Raptors Deploy to Philippines In ‘Milestone’ for Alliance
The U.S. Air Force marked an important first earlier this week when F-22 Raptors deployed to Clark Air Force Base, the first time U.S. fifth-generation fighters have ever deployed to the Philippines, the Air Force said. The F-22 deployment, which took place on March 13 ...
The Air Force Changed Its Mind on Some Cuts to the F-15EX Buy—But Won’t Go Any Farther
A year after Air Force officials said they had decided to cut their planned fleet of F-15EX Eagle IIs from 144 to 80, the service reversed course—partially—and upped its buy in the 2024 budget to fulfill the homeland defense mission and ensure it reached a ...
WATCH: Video of Russian Fighter Crashing Into US MQ-9 Released
The Pentagon released video of a March 14 incident involving a Russian Su-27 fighter and a U.S. Air Force MQ-9, which resulted in the American plane crashing into the Black Sea. The MQ-9 was conducting a surveillance mission when two Su-27 Flankers intercepted it. The ...
How Do You Train for a War in Space? Saltzman Says USSF Is Working on the Details
The Space Force increasingly views space as a contested environment it might have to battle through due to China's increasing capabilities. But that does not mean the service is unprepared if it had to fight tonight, according to Chief of Space operations Gen. B. Chance ...
Russian Fighter Collides with American MQ-9 Over Black Sea; Drone Lost
A Russian fighter collided with an American drone over the Black Sea on March 14, damaging the drone and causing it to crash, according to U.S. European Command. The U.S. military said the incident occurred in international airspace following “an unsafe and unprofessional intercept” of ...
Air Force vs. Army vs. Navy: How the ’24 Budgets Stack Up
The Biden administration is requesting $185.1 billion for the Air Force in 2024, slightly less than its $185.5 billion proposal for the Army, and well behind the $202.5 billion requested for the Navy. But the Air Force, Space Force, and Navy are gaining investment while ...
Air Force, Space Force Push for Sweeping Modernization in 2024 Budget
The Biden administration is requesting $259 billion for the Department of Air Force in its fiscal 2024 budget, an increase of more than $9 billion or about 4 percent over this year. Not all that money would go to the Air Force and Space Force, ...